“I was a bit nervous that I would struggle before the end but I surprised myself,” said Aimee Willmott said after claiming the 400m IM gold at the Swim England Winter Championships, most likely earning her spot on the Commonwealth Games roster.

After an action packed Friday of the Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame double dual meet, the competition resumed on Saturday morning at 10 am. On Day 1, Virginia Tech led the women’s scores, followed by Notre Dame in second, and Pittsburgh in third. The same was true for the men, with the 2014 ACC champions Virginia Tech leading the way. However, half of the events took place on Saturday, providing an opportunity for the teams to once again step up and prove themselves in this intense ACC battle.

In the women’s 400 Medley Relay, the Notre Dame squad of Catherine Mulquin, Emma Reaney, Courtney Whyte, and Cat Galletti blazed to an impressive finish, touching the wall at 3:43.29, a full two seconds before Virginia Tech’s A. Pittsburgh’s A relay took third. For the men, it was Virginia Tech’s Collin Higgins, Brandon Fiala, Morgan Latimer, and Owen Burns with the impressive lead, finishing in 3:16.21. Notre Dame’s A and B relays took second and third, respectively.

Amanda Richey, a freshman from Pittsburgh, easily won the women’s 500 Freestyle in a 4:51.50, followed by Virginia Tech’s Jessica Hespeler and fellow Pittsburgh Panther Kaleigh Ritter. Virginia Tech took a 1-2 punch in the men’s 500 Freestyle as Jake Ores took first in 4:30.41 and Michal Szuba was second in 4:35.14. Notre Dame freshman Benjamin Jany took third in this event at 4:35.69, just behind Szuba.

In the women’s 200 IM, Notre Dame’s Emma Reaney pulled away from the field, finished in 2:01.60. She was followed by Hokie Fiona Donnelly and Pittsburgh’s Kinga Cichowska in 2:04.96 and 2:06.83, respectively. The men’s 200 IM was a battle to the wall, with Zachary Stephens of the Irish ultimately pulling out a win in 1:49.75 ahead of Virginia Tech’s Burns in 1:49.94.

Continuing her impressive string of wins over the weekend, Notre Dame sophomore Catherine Mulquin took the womens’ 50 Freestyle in 23.51, followed by Danyel Johnson of the Panthers and Margaret Parcell of VT. Notre Dame freshman Justin Plaschka took first for the men’s 50, touching in 20.67. Senior CJ Fiala of the Hokies took second in 20.85.

Virginia Tech’s Klaudia Nazieblo won the women’s 200 Butterfly by over two seconds, finishing in 2:02.60. A pair of Notre Dame seniors, Bridget Casey and Courtney Whyte, finished behind her in 2:02.60 and 2:03.40, respectively. Morgan Latimer of the Hokies won the men’s 200 Butterfly event in 1:47.90, followed by Notre Dame’s Jonathan Williamson (1:49.75) and Virginia Tech’s Chris Grimmett-Norris (1:51.30).

Mulquin of the Irish once again won her event in the 100 Backstroke (55.48), followed by her teammate Galletti in 56.99. For the men, there was no question that Higgins took control of the race, winning in 48.83 ahead of Notre Dame’s Bogac Ayhan, Justin Plaschka, and Matthew Buerger.

American record holder Reaney of the Irish won the women’s 200 Breaststroke in 2:12.13 ahead of Weronika Paluszek of the Hokies (2:14.68) and Kinga Cichowska of the Panthers (2:16.78). For the men, Notre Dame’s Stephens once again won his event, taking the 200 Breaststroke in 2:00.59, almost four seconds ahead of Virginia Tech’s Brandon Fiala.

The women’s 200 Freestyle was up next. Jessica Hespeler of the Hokies won in 1:50.48, Amanda Richey of Pittsburgh took second in 1:52.29, and Gabrielle Bishop of Virginia Tech took third in 1:52.42. Virginia Tech claimed the top two spots on the men’s side, with Burns taking first in 1:38.50 and Lucas Bureau taking second in 1:40.66. Notre Dame’s Trent Jackson claimed third in this event.

The Virginia Tech A relay of Parcell, Grabski, Bishop, and Hespeler won the 400 Freestyle relay in 3:25.50, trailed by Notre Dame’s A and Virginia Tech’s B relays. The A relay of Stephens, Buerger, Plaschka, and Kevin Hughes claimed a win for the Irish in the men’s event, followed by Virginia Tech’s A and Pittsburgh’s A.

In the final scores, Virginia Tech was dominant against both Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. The Hokie women won the meet over Notre Dame 198-172 and over Pittsburgh 252.5-117.5. Virginia Tech’s men also won, beating Notre Dame 201-169 and Pittsburgh 287.83. Both the Notre Dame women and men topped Pittsburgh.

The Hokies will be competing next November 20-22 at their home pool for the H20kie Invite. The Fighting Irish women swim at home again next weekend when they dual Illinois, while the men’s team will be traveling to East Lansing to dual Michigan State. The Panthers will compete at their home Trees pool November 21-23 at the Pitt Invite.